Pat Benatar Facts That Will Make You Run And Grab Your Old Vinyl Collection
Big hair, spandex outfits, and loud guitar riffs pretty much sum up the 1980s rock legend Pat Benatar. From her start as a cabaret singer at a night club, Benatar proved to the industry that females could be a fore to be reckoned with, even if they are classically trained!
Benatar brought us some of the best teenage anthems of all time, including "Heartbreaker" and "Love is a Battlefield." Time to dust off that old Crimes of Passion vinyl and turn it up as loud as it can go. You're going to need some background music when it comes to these Pat Benatar facts!
Pat's Real Name Is Patricia Mae Andrzejewski
Although Pat Benatar is her stage name, it was once her legal name. In 1972, at the age of 19, Pat married her high school sweetheart, Dennis Benatar. Even after they divorced a few years later in 1979, Benatar kept the Benatar surname for her stage persona.
We're glad she did! With a last name like Andrzejewski, it's no wonder Pat kept the name for the stage! She couldn't go around asking fans to try and pronounce her very Polish surname. We'd bet money she was sick and tired of correcting people when the mispronounced it anyway.
Pat's Mother Was A Beautician And Trained Opera Singer
With an opera trained mom, Pat's vocals make a whole lot of sense! She gained a love for music and the arts early on because of her mother, starting vocal lessons and gaining her first solo at the age of eight. Although her mother was a trained opera singer, Pat was originally classically trained only later moving on to more coloratura training.
Interesting, considering she's a rock & roll legend! In her 2010 memoir, Benatar says, "My dream was to be the singer in a rockin' band, like Robert Plant was to Led Zeppelin or Lou Gramm to Foreigner." Well, she definitely made her dreams a reality!
Pat Sang Her First Solo, "It Must Be Spring," In Elementary School
Since Pat is from a musically talented family, it's no surprise that she landed her first solo act at Daniel Street Elementary School at the young age of eight. The song was called "It must Be Spring," but Benatar's stage presence didn't stop there.
She played Queen Guinevere in her high school's production of Camelot, sang at the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, and performed a solo of "The Christmas Song' on a holiday recording of the Lindenhurst High School Choir her senior year. That's a pretty decent resume for a senior who was planning on training at Julliard!
She Decided To Skip Julliard In Favor Of Studying Health Education
With her love of music Pat's plan was to train with the best of the best at the Julliard School in New York City. As a private performing arts conservatory, the professors there would be able to help Pat hone in on her musical talents. Too bad she decided to do a complete 180, attending the State University of New York at Stony Brook to study health education.
After one year at the university, she dropped out to marry her first husband and high school sweetheart, Dennis Benatar. The two eventually relocated to Virginia where Dennis was being stationed.
Benatar Was A Bank Teller Near Richmond, Virginia
While her husband, Dennis, who was in the army, was stationed at Fort Lee in Virginia, Pat grew bored and picked up a job as a bank teller near Richmond. After three years, Benatar decided that the life of a banker and housewife weren't for her, so, in 1973, she quit to pursue a career in singing.
The fact that she got the inspiration to quit her job after seeing a Liza Minnelli show in Richmond is just the icing on the cake! In her memoir, Benatar says, "This is ridiculous. I'm a better singer than she is," speaking about Minnelli's talent.
Benatar's First Singing Job Was As A Singing Waitress
After Liza Minnelli inspired Pat to go back to her dream of singing, she found herself in Richmond, at a flapper-inspired nightclub called the Roaring Twenties. There, she was a singing waitress, eventually meeting Phil Coxon, a pianist. The two decided to do a duo act, later expanding their band to eight more musicians and calling themselves Coxon's Army.
As a basement lounge band, their popularity started to grow, leading them to become the main subject of a PBS special and Benatar to her first single. Unfortunately, the episode was never aired. Benatar has described Coxon as "the next great composer of our time."
Pat Had The First Music Video To Feature Dialogue
If you're not familiar with the "Love is a Battlefield' music video, it features Benatar as a rebellious teen running away from home. The ground-breaking portion of the video is that it's the first in history to ever incorporate dialogue into the music.
The first time we hear a speaking voice, Benatar is running out of the house, her father saying "If you leave this house now, you can just forget about coming back!" The second time a dancer shouts "leave me alone!" at the club owner she works for as he tries to grab her.
"You Better Run" Was The Second Video Ever Played On MTV
On August 1, 1981, Pat Benatar's song "You Better Run" was the second music video to ever be broadcast on MTV. The first being "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. Benatar's video is pretty simplistic, featuring Benatar and her band in what looks like an industrial warehouse playing the song and jamming out.
One thing is definitely noticeable though, Benatar is rocking her signature black spandex pants for the video! Since the initial airing in 1981, the official music video for "You Better Run" has garnered well over two million views and 14 thousand likes on Youtube.
A Character In Fast Time At Ridgemont High Was Based On Pat
In the film, Fast Time at Ridgemont High, the character of Pat Bernardo was inspired by Pat Benatar. During an early lunch-room scene, audience members can even hear two characters, Stacy Hamilton and Linda Barrett, talk about Bernardo's "Pat Benatar look."
We can only imagine that the two gossipers are talking about the edgy pixie-style haircut that Benatar rocked during a good chunk of the 80s that the character is also pulling off. Let's be honest, there are only so many people in the world that are able to pull off that type of hairstyle: those with perfect cheekbones and a tiny little nose.
Benatar Felt Her Most Valuable Experience Came From Club Performances
Benatar has said that although she had a lot of musical experience growing up, there was nothing quite like the experience she got while performing gigs at a club. She's said that she had to "to fight the food, the waiters and the booze to get the audience's attention."
Pat was smart and had a system in place, she would "take on a full room, then a section, then a table and then an individual. As soon as you do that, you're o.k. But some nights it doesn’t work." It takes a lot of strength for someone to get on stage, knowing that the audience might not care.
She Got Her Big Break At An Amateur Night
Like many great talents before her, Pat got her big break when she least expected it, at an amateur night at a comedy club called Catch a Rising Star in New York (fitting name!). In 1975, she caught the attention of club owner Rick Newman with her rendition of Judy Garland's "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody." Newman gave her a callback to become a regular at the club, and later he became Benatar's manager.
Benatar became a regular at Catch a Rising Star for the next three years, wowing the crowd with her talent and risky wardrobe choices!
Halloween 1977, Pat Wore A Spandex Cat Suit On Stage
Halloween 1977 turned out to be a weirdly pivotal night in Pat Benatar's career. That night, she entered a costume contest in Greenwich Village, dressing up as a character from the B movie Cat-Women of the Moon. Most people would go home and change before going to their job, but Pat decided to perform that night still in her costume, which consisted of pretty much a spandex jumpsuit.
The costume turned out to be fashion-inspiration Benatar later uses for her onstage persona. In the 80s, what would Pat Benatar be if not a spandex-clad rockstar goddess? Pretty much, she made spandex cool before it was cool.
Pat Recorded Pepsi Jingles In The 70s
Between performing at Catch a Rising Star, Pat Benatar recorded jingles for Pepsi Cola. One particular commercial that you might remember features a lady drinking a Pepsi while staring longingly at a cheeseburger. All of a sudden, both the Pepsi can and the burger seem to start sweating.
Eventually, everyone gets together and the lady is very happy to have both of the items paired together. It really makes you want to go out and buy a greasy burger and an ice-cold drink, so the advertisement does its job! A silly premise, but one that makes total sense considering Benatar's jingle's called "We Belong."
Pat Won A Grammy In The Same Category Four Years In A Row
It's no surprise that Pat won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance four years in a row, from 1980 to 1983. The award is given to a female recording artist who showcases work containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre. Pat Benatar, along with Sheryl Crow and Tina Turner, holds the record for most Grammy wins in this category, at four.
Benatar's first win was for her second-ever studio-recorded album Crimes of Passion. The next year was for her song "Fire and Ice." In 1982, "Shadows of Fire," and in 1983 "Love is a Battlefield."
She Is Known As The Leading Female Rock Vocalist Of The 80s
Benatar is acknowledged as the leading female rock vocalist of the 80s, and not just because of her amazing style! This feat was marked by her four consecutive Grammy Award wins and subsequent nominations in the following years, after 1983. Benatar also went on to win the American Music Award for Favorite Female Artist Pop/Rock in 1982 and 1984, People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Artist in 1981, and American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist in 1986.
Regardless of her claim to fame in the 80s, Benatar is still a rock powerhouse alongside her guitarist and husband Neil Giraldo, selling out concerts and wowing audiences.
She Married Her Guitarist, Neil Giraldo
After divorcing Dennis Benatar in 1979, Benatar was remarried a few years later, in 1982, to her guitarist Neil Giraldo. The two met in the spring of 1979 by way of producer and writer, Mike Chapmen who thought Benatar needed a musical director and partner to help her establish a more aggressive sound. Benetar had just been signed and needed some sort of direction.
The two hit it off right away, writing and recording "In the Heat of the Night" in the summer of 1979. This was the first time the world was introduced to their partnership and rock 'n' roll love affair. They are still married and have two daughters.
Benatar Is A Huge Led Zeppelin Fan
At the beginning of her musical journey, Pat always said that she wanted a partnership like Led Zepplin's Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. She wanted the rock 'n' roll electric guitar riffs and the aggressive sound that pulled in an audience. All of which she found with Neil Giraldo.
It was almost as if Giraldo could read Benatar's mind, pulling the music out of her when she didn't know which notes were correct. "And the minute he walked in, he knew exactly what I was talking about. He played it exactly the way that I wanted it, and the whole thing was born from that," Benatar said about "Heartbreaker."
Her Music Is Everywhere
Benatar's music has been featured across multiple different mediums, including video games, films, and television shows and commercials. "Love is a Battlefield" has been heard on South Park as well as the rom-com film 13 Going on 30 with Jennifer Garner. The song has also been featured in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. "Heartbreaker" can be heard in an episode of Charmed, of which Benatar and Giraldo make cameo appearances.
Also, because of music-focused video games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero, Benatar's music is now being introduced to a new generation of musicians!
She Released An Autobiography In 2010
"Between a Heart and a Rock Place" could not have been more appropriately named for Pat Benatar's autobiography. What else do we expect from such a creative person, though? The book gave the world a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of the most beloved female rock 'n' roll legends of all time. Benatar released the book in 2010, a few years after her induction into the Long Island Hall of Frame in 2008.
Being a rocker in the 80s, one would think the book had some dirty little secrets. Surprisingly, Benatar lived a very well-adjusted and normal life!
Benatar's Label Ran A Riskee Advertisement That She Hated
When Benatar was promoting her second album, Crimes of Passion, her label decided to run an advertisement in Billboard that she did not agree with. They had taken a picture of Pat and airbrushed it to look like she didn't have clothing on. She threw a fit when she saw the final product.
In her memoir, she says, "Aside from being embarrassing, the photo was stupid. Didn't they understand that people already knew how I was built? All people had to do was take one look at me. Were Billboard readers suddenly going to flock to my album because I'd miraculously grown new breasts?"
